A very important element in making a sale of carpeting, flooring, or other products that are too large to be individually displayed, is to aesthetically mount samples that are representative of the larger product, at the point of purchase. Not only must the samples be aesthetically displayed, but the samples must be clearly distinctive so that they are readily viewable without the potential purchaser having to move some samples to uncover others, and also they should be mounted in a nondestructive manner--so that the presence of some samples does not harm--even temporarily--other samples.
The achievement of all of the above described objectives has rarely, if ever, been achieved previously. However, according to the present invention all of the above objectives are achieved, and are achieved in a manner that many potential purchasers find extremely visually pleasing, readily catching the purchaser's eye and drawing the purchaser to the display. The invention comprises both a method and apparatus for displaying carpet samples, other flooring samples, or thin (planar) quadrate samples in general, at the point of purchase. The samples are mounted in such a way that each sample does not adversely impact upon the other samples in the display, so that all of the samples are highly visible, and so that the samples are arranged in a manner that does not require moving some samples to access others.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a method of mounting flooring samples that are quadrate in configuration, have a diagonal, and substantially right angled side edges including first and second side edges which intersect at the lowest point of each sample, and third and fourth side edges opposite the first and second side edges, and which intersect at the highest point of each displayed sample, and a flooring face, is provided. The method comprises the step of mounting the samples so that the first and second right angled side edges form a downwardly facing V, each of the first and second side edges making an angle of between 30 degrees and 60 degrees with respect to a vertical line extending through the right angle between the first and second side edges, with the flooring face outward; preferably each of the first and second side edges makes an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the vertical.
Mounting is preferably accomplished by supporting each flooring sample at the first and second edges thereof, and so that the flooring face of each sample is in a substantially vertical plane. The samples are typically rectangular, and the mounting step is further practiced by mounting the samples in a plurality of rows and columns closely positioned with respect to each other so that all of the samples, except those in the bottom row and the endmost column, are visible as squares with an apparently substantially vertical diagonal. The samples are also preferably mounted in groups of more than one sample, samples in each group overlapping each other so that--except for the outwardmost sample in each group--only a portion of the third and fourth edges, an adjacent flooring face thereof are visible. Preferably three samples are mounted in each group, and where the samples are carpet samples, all the samples in each group are of the same color and preferably also of the same shade. The groups are also displayed so that preferably each sample is adjacent at least one other sample having the same color but a different shade.
A mounting device according to the invention comprises means defining a generally planar surface having first and second intersecting substantially right angle edges, and means defining a plurality of overlapping open top channels at each of the first and second intersecting edges for supporting generally planar elements in overlapping relationship, generally parallel to the planar surface. The planar surface may have a substantial void area so as to reduce cost, and the entire mounting device may be made of an integral piece of plastic. Preferably the planar surface is quadrate, and three open top channels are provided.
A plurality of mounting devices as described above are mounted by means for mounting the planar surfaces and associated open top channels so that first and second intersecting edges thereof form a downwardly facing V. The first and second channels preferably form a substantially 45 degree angle with respect to the vertical, and the mounting means include a plurality of generally triangular rod or tube assemblies, each having a front sloping element, and a plurality of vertically and horizontally extending attaching rods for attaching the planar surfaces to the front sloping elements.
It is the primary object of the present invention to provide for the aesthetic, nondestructive, and easily visible and accessible mounting of product samples that are substantially planar and relatively stiff, particularly carpeting and other flooring (e.g., wood or tile) samples. This and other objects of the invention will become clearly from an inspection of the detailed description of the invention and from the appended claims.